Jointed roller

ABSTRACT

A jointed or bendable roller adapted to be used, among other things, as a full-width roller in a calender in order to prevent folds, fluttering edges, and undulations in web material, such as paper, by stretching widthwise, said roller having at least two roller shells which are rotatably mounted on a straight roller shaft and which are set at an angle to each other. The roller further includes means for adjusting the degree or amount of bending between adjacent roller shells.

United States Patent [191 Jaegers et al.

[ 51 July 17,1973

J OINTED ROLLER Inventors: Heinz Jaegers, Duisburg-Buchholz;

Horst Quenter, Kaarst, both of Germany Joseph Eek & Sohne,Dusseldorf-Heerdt, Germany Filed: July 2, 1971 Appl. No.: 159,177

Assignee:

Foreign Application Priority Data July 8, 1970 Germany P 20 33 740.0Feb. 24, 1971 Germany P 21 08 702.5

U.S. Cl. 29/116 AD Int. Cl. B21b 13/02 Field of Search 29/116 R, 116 AD,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Makarius 29/1 16 R 2,745,1345/1956 Collins 29/116 R UX 2,817,940 12/1957 Lorig 29/116 R X 2,996,7848/1961 Young 26/63 3,308,519 3/1967 Westgate 29/116 R X 3,389,450 6/1968Robertson 29/116 AD FQREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 893,426 4/1962 GreatBritain 29/1 16 AD Primary ExaminerAlfred R. Guest AttorneyFrederick E.Lange et al.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A jointed or bendable roller adapted to be used, amongother things, as a full-width roller in a calender in order to preventfolds, fluttering edges, and undulations in web material, such as paper,by stretching widthwise, said roller having at least two roller shellswhich are rotatably mounted on a straight roller shaft and which are setat an angle to each other. The roller further includes means foradjusting the degree or amount of bending between adjacent rollershells.

9 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 1 JOINTED ROLLER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates generally to an improved jointed or bendableroller, and more specifically, to an improved jointed or bendable rollerhaving at least tow roller tubes of equal outside diameter which areseparated from each other by a small gap, which lie axially side byside, and which are rotatably mounted onto a common supporting shaft. Inthe past, jointed or bend able rollers had been used, among otherthings, as paper deflecting rollers in a calender. The function of therollers when used in this manner was to compensate for the negative sagcaused by the pull of the paper web. The negative sag could, of course,be compensated by cambered rollers having an upward arch in the middle,however, cambered rollers had the disadvantage, as compared with jointedrollers, that due to their greater mass they tended to cause disturbingvibrations at relatively high speeds of rotation, and due to theirlarger circumference, required too much space in the interstices betweenthe calender rollers and the operating support mechanism, which, underideal conditions, should be as small as possible.

Conventional jointed or bendable rollers of the past normally includedan inner, fixed supporting shaft and a plurality of roller tubes orshells mounted on thesupporting shaft and lying axially side by sidewith respect to each other. The roller shells, normally, were eithermounted onto the supporting shaft eccentrically in the middle zone andconcentrically in the outer zone, or concentrically in the middle zoneand eccentrically in the outer zone. These prior jointed or bendablerollers, however, had the primary disadvantage that the degree ofbending or buckling of the rollers was not adjustable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In contrast to the jointed or bendable rollersof the prior art, the present invention describes an improved jointed orbendable roller in which the degree or amount of bending of the variousroller shells or tubes with respect to each other is adjustable. Morespecifically, the device of the present invention includes a supportingshaft about which is mounted a plurality of roller tubes which aremounted at an angle with respect to each other and which are rotatablymounted with respect to the main supporting shaft. Further included inthe preferred embodiment of the present invention is a means located ateach end of the supporting shaft for adjusting the height of variousportions of the roller tubes, and thus, for adjusting the degree oramount by which the various roller tubes may be bent or angled withrespect to each other. In one of the embodiments of the presentinvention, this adjustment is accomplished by mounting the variousroller tubes or shelves about the supporting shaft by means of aplurality of eccentrics integrally joined with the supporting shaftwherein the specific height of any portion of the roller tube could beadjusted by rotation of the main supporting shaft. The adjustment couldalso be accomplished by using eccentrics which are rotatable withrespect to the shaft and only rotating the eccentrics. In anotherembodiment of the present invention, the adjustment of the amount bywhich the various roller shells may be bent with respect to each othermay be accomplished by means of a bearing carriage located at each endof the supporting shaft which are adjustable radially with respect tothe supporting shaft. With this type of construction, the two ends ofthe jointed or bendable roller may be moved upwardly or downwardly withrespect to the center portions of the roller to thereby attain thedesired amount of bending.

Consequently, it is an object of the present invention to provide animproved. jointed or bendable roller in which the degree or amount bywhich the various roller shells or tubes may be bent with respect toeach other is adjustable.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedjointed or bendable roller having a plurality of roller tubes in whichat least the outer ends of the two outer roller tubes are supported onself-aligning bearings whose positions are adjustable relative to thesupporting shaft to thereby selectively vary the infiection of thejointed or bendable roller.

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent byreference to the drawings, the description of the preferred embodimentand to the appended claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front view, partially insection, of a first embodiment of a device embodying the presentinvention showing specifically, sections A, B, C and D of FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front view, partially in section, of an alternativeembodiment of a device embodying the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring first to FIG. 1', thejointed or bendable roller of the present invention includes a centrallylocated, fixed supporting shaft 21 which extends internally through thebendable roller, and a plurality of roller tubes or shells 16 and 18mounted about the centrally located supporting shaft 21. As shown bestwith reference also to FIG. 2, FIG. 1 is an illustration in which asubstantial portion of the supporting shaft 21 and-the roller shells 16and 18 have been deleted. In fact, the only portions of the roller whichare shown in FIG. 1 are the portions designated as A, B, C and D in FIG.2. Referring again to FIG. 1, the bendable roller of the preferredembodiment specifically includes three roller shells or tubes 16, 16 and18. Two of the roller shells, indicated by the reference numeral 16, areadjacent to the ends of the roller and extend toward the middle. Thethird roller shell, indicated by reference numeral 18, is mounted nearthe middle of the shaft 21 and intermediate between the two end rollershells 16 so that there is a small gap between each of the roller tubes.

The two peripheral ends of the center roller shell 18' are mounted aboutthe supporting shaft 21 by a pair of non-rotational, non-adjustableeccentrics 19, 19 and by a pair of self-aligning roller bearings 20, 20which are disposed between the outer surface of the pair of eccentrics19, 19 and the inner surface of the central roller shell 18 to permitrelatively free rotational movement of the center roller shell 18 aboutthe fixed supporting shaft 21. One of the eccentrics 19 is securelymounted to the supporting shaft 21 at the point B and the othereccentric 19 is securely mounted to the supporting shaft 21 at the pointC. As shown, each of the eccentrics 19 are eccentrically positionedabout the shaft 21 so that the axial center of each of the members 19 isdifferent from the axial center of the shaft 21. As shown in FIG. 1, theportion of each of the eccentrics 19 above the shaft 21 is substantiallysmaller than the portion of each of the eccentrics 19 disposed below theshaft 21. Because the eccentrics 19 are fixedly secured to the shaft 21,rotation of the shaft 21 also causes the eccentrics 19 to be rotated,thereby changing the positions of the eccentrics 19. For example, if theshaft 21 was rotated 180, the large portion of the eccentrics 19 wouldbe located at the top of the shaft 21 as viewed in FIG. 1 and the smallportion of the eccentrics would be disposed below the shaft 21.

Disposed against the outer surface of each of the eccentrics 19 is aself-aligning roller bearing which is designed to engage the innersurface of the peripheral ends of the center roller shell 18. The centerroller shell 18 is thereby freely rotatable about the eccentrics l9 andabout the supporting shaft 21.

The centrally located or inner ends of the two outer roller tubes orshells 16 are likewise rotatably mounted with respect to the supportingshaft 21 and with respect to the eccentrics 19 by a pair ofself-aligning roller bearings 13, 13. One of the pair of roller bearings13 is associated with each eccentric l9 and with each inner end of thetwo outer roller tubes 16. The selfaligning feature of the rollerbearings 13 enable the outer ends of the roller tubes 16 to be slightlymoved relative to the inner ends without causing the bearings 13 tobind. I

The peripheral or outer ends of the two outer roller tubes 16 aresimilarly mounted to the supporting shaft 21 by a pair of eccentrics 12,12 and a pair of selfaligning roller bearings 17, 17. In contrast to theeccentrics 19, each of the eccentrics 12 is rotatably mounted on thesupporting shaft 21. As a result, the eccentrics 12 may be rotated withrespect to the supporting shaft 21 or the shaft 21 may be rotated withrespect to the eccentrics 12. In actual construction, the eccentrics 12comprise a rotatable bushing having a cylindrical inner face or surfaceand a cylindrical outer face or surface which are eccentricallypositioned with respect to each other. As shown in the drawings, one ofthe eccentrics is rotatably mounted to the shaft 21 at one end of theshaft, generally indicated by the letter A, and the other eccentric 12is rotatably mounted to the shaft 21 at a point generally indicated bythe letter D. As in the case of the pair of eccentrics 19, the axialcenter of the eccentrics 12 is different than the axial center of theshaft 21. Likewise, a different amount of the eccentric extends abovethe shaft 21 than extends below the shaft 21. Thus, by rotating theeccentrics 12, the relative position of the various portions of theeccentrics 12 with respect to the axial center of the shaft 12 may bevaried. Disposed on the outside surface of each of the eccentrics 12 isa self-aligning roller bearing 17 which is also designed to engage theinner surface of the peripheral or outer ends of the roller shells 16.As in the case of the roller bearings 13, the self-aligning feature ofthe bearings 17 permits the ends of the roller shells 16 to be slightlymoved with respect to each other without causing the bearings 17 tobind. This specific construction also permits the roller shells 16 to befreely rotated with respect to the supporting shaft 21 and with respectto the eccentrics 12.

Each of the rotatable eccentrics 12 are further associated with a pairof holding rings 10 and 11 which are rotatable relative to each otherand which are also capable of being fixed with respect to each other.One of the holding rings 11 is fixedly secured to the rotatableeccentric 12 and the other holding ring 10 is fixedly secured andmounted to the supporting shaft 21. Consequently, if the pair of holdingrings 10 and 11 are fixed with respect to each other, the eccentric 12may be rotated by rotating the supporting shaft 21. In such anarrangement, the rotation of the shaft 21 causes the holding ring 10 torotate which in turn causes the holding ring 11 and the eccentric 12 torotate. Also, when the holding rings 10 and 11 are not fixed to eachother, the supporting shaft 21 may be rotated without rotation of theeccentric 12.

On each end of the supporting shaft 21 is secured a member 7 whichcomprises a portion of a worm gear arrangement. The outer periphery ofthe member 7 is generally circular and includes an extreme outer portion23 which includes alternate grooves and ridge portions which mayappropriately be called threads of the member 7. This portion 23 is alsoreferred to as the worm gear rim. A worm 8 having a peripheral threadedportion 24 including alternate grooves and ridges is positioned adjacentthe peripheral edge of the member 7 so that the alternate grooves andridges of the rim portion 23 engage the alternate grooves and ridges ofthe threaded periphery 24. Thus, by rotating the worm 8, the peripheralrim portion 23 of the member 7 is advanced, thereby causing thesupporting shaft 21 to rotate. The member 7 and the worm 8 are bothcontained in a worm housing 6 which by a conventional dovetail guide anda tongue 2 is fastened to a pedestal 1. The housing 6 may be secured tothe pedestal l or displaced from the pedestal 1 by the adjusting spindle5 and a round nut 4.

The operation of the device illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 can besummarized as follows: Under normal operating conditions, the eccentrics12, 12 and 19, 19 are positioned in a manner so that the roller shells16 and 18 are disposed at a desirable angle with respect to each other.This angle, of course, would depend upon the purpose for which thejointed or bendable roller is being used. If a different angle betweenadjacent roller shells is desired, the holding rings 10 and 11 aredisengaged so that the holding ring 11 and thus the eccentrics 12 may berotated relative to that of the holding member 10 and thus the shaft 21.Then, the eccentrics 12 are rotated until the desired angle betweenadjacent roller shells or the desired curvature of the roller isattained. With this rotation, however, the position of the crest of theroller curvature is also varied. To compensate for this, the holdingmembers 10 and 11 are secured to each other so that they rotate inunison and the supporting shaft 21 and hence the entire roller isrotated by the worm 8 until the crest is brought back to its desiredposition. With this construction, the curvature of the roller may becontinuously adjusted within certain end limits. These limits, ofcourse, are determined by the characteristics of the two pair ofeccentrics 19, 19 and 12, 12.

Referring now to FIG. 3 which illustrates an alternative embodiment ofthe present invention, it can be seen that the general structure of thedevice is very similar to that shown in FIG. 1. More specifically, theembodiment shown in FIG. 3 also includes a fixed supporting shaft 21about which are mounted a plurality of roller tubes or shells 16, 16 and18. As in FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 18 indicates the centrallylocated roller shell and reference numerals 16 indicate the two outerroller shells. The two ends of the center roller shell 18 are mountedwith respect to the supporting shaft 21 via the members 22 and theself-aligning roller bearing 20. The members 22 are securely connectedwith the shaft 21. In actual construction, the members 22 are concentricwith their axial center concentric with the axial center of the shaft21. Disposed between the outer surface of the members 22 and theintersurface of the roller shell 18 are a pair of self-aligning rollerbearings 20. These bearings permit the roller shell 18 to rotate freelywith respect to the members 22 and with respect to the supporting shaft21.

Similarly, the central or inner ends of the pair of outer roller shells16, 16 are supported with respect to the shaft 21 by the pair of members22, 22 and by a pair of self-aligning roller bearings 13, 13 disposedbetween the outer surface of the members 22 and the inner surface of theroller shell 16. The outer or peripheral ends of the roller shells 16,16 are supported with respect to the shaft 21 by an adjustable bearingcarriage 3 and by a pair of self-aligning roller-bearings 17 disposedbetween the outer surface of the bearing carriage 3 and the inner.surface of the roller shell 16. As in the embodiment illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 2, the self-aligning roller bearings 20, 13 and 17 permitthe two ends of any one roller shell 16 or 18 to'be moved relative tothe other end without causing the bearings to bind.

For adjustment of the device illustrated in FIG. 3, there is threadedlyadvanced into the bearing carriage 3 a set screw 14 which is held by anoverhanging portion 25 of the pedestal 15. By rotating the set screw 14,the bearing carriages 3 may be adjusted in a radial direction withrespect to the supporting shaft 21. As shown in FIG. 3, the adjustmentwould be along a straight guide member 9 which is integrally formed withthe pedestal 15. The pedestal 15 may also be designed so that it isrotationally adjustable about an axis parallel to the axis of thesupporting shaft 21 in a manner which is not shown in the illustrations.In such a device, however, it would be possible to rotate either onlythe bearing carriages 3, or, if the supporting shaft 21 was securelyfastened to the pedestal 15, the entire roller including the supportingshaft 21 and the inner members 22 by rotation of the pedestal 15. In acase where the supporting shaft 21 is rotationally mounted and thepedestal 15, the central roller shell 18 and the inner end of the outerroller tubes 16 may be mounted eccentrically as in the embodimentillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Then the inner eccentrics, the members 22,could be adjusted by a rotation of the supporting shaft 21.

The alternative embodiment which is illustrated in FIG. 3 has thespecific advantage over the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 inthat upon adjustment of the bearing carriages 3, the crest of the rollercurvature does not rotate or vary. Because of this, the jointed orbendable roller of the present invention may be enveloped or inverted180 and can also be adjusted very easily. In both embodiments, it ispossible to omit the middle roller tube or shell 18 so that the outerroller tubes 16 are separated from each other only by a small gap. It isfurther possible also to arrange more than three roller tubes on thesupporting shaft 21.

Although the description of the two illustrated embodiments of thepresent invention has been quite specific, it is contemplated that otherembodiments and changes may be made to the described embodiments withoutdeviating from the teachings or spirit of the present invention.Consequently, it is intended that the scope of the present invention bedictated by the appended claims rather than by the description of thepreferred embodiment.

We claim:

1. A jointed roller having means for changing the inflection thereofcomprising:

a centrally disposed supporting shaft adapted for selective rotationalmovement;

at least two roller tubes of substantially equal outside diameterrotatably mounted with respect to said supporting shaft, said rollertubes being bendable with respect to each other and aligned axially sideby side with adjacent roller tubes separated from each other by a smallgap and said roller tubes including an outer roller tube at each endthereof, each of said outer roller tubes having an inner and an outerend and each being supported by a first support means including a firsteccentric connected with said supporting shaft and a first selfaligningbearing means disposed between said first eccentric and said outerroller tube for rotatably supporting the inner end of said outer rollertube and a second support means including a second eccentric connectedwith said supporting shaft and a second self-aligning bearing meansdisposed between said second eccentric and said outer roller tube forrotatably supporting the outer end of said outer roller tube, theangular position of said first and second eccentrics about saidsupporting shaft being adjustable with respect to each other and theangular position of at least one of said first and second eccentricsbeing adjustable with respect to said supporting shaft.

2. The jointed roller of claim 1 wherein the angular position of saidsecond eccentric is adjustable with respect to said supporting shaft.

3. The jointed roller of claim 1 having means for rotating saidsupporting shaft about its longitudinal axis.

4. The jointed roller of claim 3 wherein said means for rotating saidsupporting shaft includes a worm gear.

5. The jointed roller of claim 1 wherein said first eccentric is fixedlysecured to said supporting shaft.

6. The jointed roller of claim 5 having means for adjusting the angularposition of said second, eccentric with respect to said supportingshaft.

7. The jointed roller of claim 6 having securing means for selectivelysecuring said second eccentric to said supporting shaft for rotationtherewith.

8. The jointed roller of claim 7 wherein said securing means is aholding ring selectably securable to said second eccentric.

9. The jointed roller of claim 5 having means for selectively rotatingsaid supporting shaft about its longitudinal axis.

1. A jointed roller having means for changing the inflection thereofcomprising: a centrally disposed supporting shaft adapted for selectiverotational movement; at least two roller tubes of substantially equaloutside diameter rotatably mounted with respect to said supportingshaft, said roller tubes being bendable with respect to each other andaligned axially side by side with adjacent roller tubes separated fromeach other by a small gap and said roller tubes including an outerroller tube at each end thereof, each of said outer roller tubes havingan inner and an outer end and each being supported by a first supportmeans including a first eccentric connected with said supporting shaftand a first self-aligning bearing means disposed between said firsteccentric and said outer roller tube for rotatably supporting the innerend of said outer roller tube and a second support means including asecond eccentric connected with said supporting shaft and a secondself-aLigning bearing means disposed between said second eccentric andsaid outer roller tube for rotatably supporting the outer end of saidouter roller tube, the angular position of said first and secondeccentrics about said supporting shaft being adjustable with respect toeach other and the angular position of at least one of said first andsecond eccentrics being adjustable with respect to said supportingshaft.
 2. The jointed roller of claim 1 wherein the angular position ofsaid second eccentric is adjustable with respect to said supportingshaft.
 3. The jointed roller of claim 1 having means for rotating saidsupporting shaft about its longitudinal axis.
 4. The jointed roller ofclaim 3 wherein said means for rotating said supporting shaft includes aworm gear.
 5. The jointed roller of claim 1 wherein said first eccentricis fixedly secured to said supporting shaft.
 6. The jointed roller ofclaim 5 having means for adjusting the angular position of said secondeccentric with respect to said supporting shaft.
 7. The jointed rollerof claim 6 having securing means for selectively securing said secondeccentric to said supporting shaft for rotation therewith.
 8. Thejointed roller of claim 7 wherein said securing means is a holding ringselectably securable to said second eccentric.
 9. The jointed roller ofclaim 5 having means for selectively rotating said supporting shaftabout its longitudinal axis.